Search form

TRENDING:

FEATURED:

In wake of Williams firing, Republicans want NPR funding examined

Three potential 2012 Republican presidential candidates chimed in Thursday on the firing of NPR news analyst Juan Williams, with two of them calling on Congress to scrutinize NPR's federal funding.

Williams was ousted Wednesday night for comments he made on Fox News about Muslims. But former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee and former House Speaker Newt Gingrich (Ga.) all called NPR's move an act of censorship and political correctness.

ADVERTISEMENT

"While I have often enjoyed appearing on NPR programs and have been
treated fairly and objectively, I will no longer accept interview
requests from NPR as long as they are going to practice a form of
censorship, and since NPR is funded with public funds, it IS a form of
censorship," Huckabee said in a statement. "It is time for the taxpayers to start making cuts to federal
spending, and I encourage the new Congress to start with NPR."

Conservatives saw the Williams firing as a chance to drive a wedge issue by criticizing media outlets, such as NPR, which they say are too sympathetic to left-wing points of view.

The long-time commentator told Fox News's Bill O'Reilly, "Look, Bill,
I'm not a bigot. You know the kind of books I've written about the
civil rights movement in this country. But when I get on the plane, I
got to tell you, if I see people who are in Muslim garb and I think, you
know, they are identifying themselves first and foremost as Muslims, I
get worried. I get nervous."

NPR explained Williams's firing in a
statement saying his comments were "inconsistent with our editorial
standards and practices, and undermined his credibility as a news
analyst with NPR."

NPR operates using both private and public money, though most of their revenue comes from non-public sources.

Gingrich, who was the top House lawmaker from 1994-1998, said that Congress should investigate NPR and consider cutting its funding.

"The U.S. Congress should investigate NPR and consider cutting off its money," he said on Fox News, calling the incident "a total act of censorship."